Klobuchar Seeks Companion Antitrust Bill

Senate Antitrust Subcommittee Chair Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., is “actively working” to introduce at least one, possibly more, of the six antitrust bills the House Judiciary Committee passed last week (see 2106240071). Klobuchar’s Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act (S-228) passed Wednesday with the House package of antitrust legislation (see 2106240071). “It just shows the momentum” for updating U.S. antitrust law, she told us Thursday. Klobuchar wouldn’t specify which House bill she plans to introduce. “I think there will be others as well,” she said.

Lawmakers are looking at “pieces of my” legislation (see 2102040053), Klobuchar said: “Mine is broader than just tech. We are looking at both ways of doing this.” The subcommittee will continue its series of hearings on the pharmaceutical, food supply and tech industries, she added.

The office for ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah, didn’t comment Friday. He recently accused House Democrats of attempting to “co-opt” Republicans, who are justifiably angry at Big Tech, into supporting “un-conservative solutions” (see 2106220061).

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin, D-Ill., told us Thursday he didn’t follow action before the House Judiciary Committee. An aide said the Senate Judiciary Committee has been “tracking these bills and the markup in the House Judiciary Committee.”

After Thursday’s markup, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., told us he hasn’t spoken to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., about commitments for floor time. Her office didn’t comment now.

Three House Democrats from California voted against five of the six bills: Eric Swalwell, Zoe Lofgren and Lou Correa. The bills failed to address issues like disinformation, privacy, security and data portability, Swalwell told us: None of those issues is “solved by singling out four companies.” Swalwell remained “open-minded” and noted “thousands” of California constituents work in tech: “I want to make sure their equities are protected.” Facebook, Google and Apple didn’t comment. An Amazon spokesperson cited a statement from Vice President-Public Policy Brian Huseman.

Klobuchar’s lead co-sponsor on the Merger Filing Fee Modernization Act, Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, welcomed movement in the House. “I’m in favor of what they’re doing of a general nature,” he said. Grassley and Klobuchar led unanimous committee passage of their bill in May.

“I haven’t examined the details of [the other five bills], but I’m glad to see some movement against Big Tech,” said Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas. “Abuse of power of Big Tech is profoundly dangerous, and any movement against their anticompetitive actions is positive.”

“It’s a good sign there was some bipartisan support for them,” said Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo. “In general, I really like where the House bills are going.” Klobuchar is making her intentions clear, but “my proposals are definitely more robust,” he added. Hawley cited his bill (see 2104120033) for forcing tech companies to spin off certain lines of business, like Amazon spinning off Amazon Web Services.

Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said he will spend the break reviewing the House bills. “I sort of know” the bills “from 30,000 feet. I want to get closer to the ground and the weeds.” Since he took office, “the situation with Big Tech has gotten worse,” he said. “All we do is hold hearings and issue press releases and do nothing. It’s time for us to do something. Is this the right answer? I don’t know yet, but at least somebody’s doing something concrete.”